Ghost Ship
by Rock Scorpion
Summary: Mal and the crew come across a derelict ship floating in deep space. Surely nothing could go wrong if they indulge in a little innocent salvaging? Post-BDM. S2:Ep2.
1. Chapter 1

**Ghost Ship**

_Author's note: This story takes place after the events of my story "Symbols of Freedom" though it's not essential to have read that first. I'm not stopping you, but not forcing you either. Hope you enjoy._

**One**

**Captain Malcolm Reynolds** stared at the rotating hulk two klicks directly ahead of them and felt an indistinct sense of anxiety fill his chest. He was seated in the co-pilots seat of Serenity, River sat to his right in the pilot's position and Jayne was behind him at the comms panel. Mal scratched at the stump of his shoulder through his coat and tried to compose his thoughts. He wasn't sure what they should do next.

'Anything Jayne?'

Jayne was hunched over the panel scanning the radio emissions in the area. He shook his head as he removed a headset from one ear.

'That bird ain't givin' out a peep Mal. Nothin' 'bove background 'n any frequency.'

"Dead air." thought Mal.

'River,' he said, 'Take us in closer. See if we can't get some visual ID on it.'

River pushed Serenity forwards, gently nudging her guidance jets until they were less than one hundred meters above the stricken ship's stern. She angled them downwards and turned one hundred and eighty degrees. The flat, grey hull filled their view out of the windows. From a distance they would have looked like a Remora picking at a docile shark.

'You getting any readings lil' albatross?'

River had been checking her panels continuously during the manoeuvring and shook her head. As far as she could detect there was nothing giving out any power on board the other ship.

Mal rubbed his stump. It didn't make any sense. Ships were never completely inactive. There was always some power left in circuits and relays. Maybe not enough to drive an engine or run life-support, but enough to maintain the computer systems in hibernation. They should be able to pick up that small charge in the other ship's circuits from this close proximity.

River sat back in the pilot's seat.

'Nothing.' She said. 'It is empty.'

Jayne took off his headphones.

'Thought you was s'posed t' be sane now-a-days,' he said, 'so whit you still doin' talkin' crazy? That ain't empty. That there is a fortune just waitin' t'be lye-burr-ate-ted.'

River gave Jayne a dark look.

He sent a mock-scared expression back to her.

'Ain't nobody goin' to be liberating anything 'til I figure out exactly what we're dealin' with here,' said Mal.

He unhooked the intercom microphone and opened the broadcast channel.

'Kaylee! Get your greasy little face up here pronto. Your captain needs your expertise.'

He hooked the mic back in its rest.

'Either of you forgotten what happened the last time we came across a derelict floating all ripe for the pickin'?' he asked, 'Alliance. Reavers. Bodies hangin' from the ceilin'. Big scary bomb stickin' itself to our bottom. Any of that ringin' a bell?'

'Yeah. But sure, we couldn't be that unlucky twice in a row,' said Jayne.

Mal stared him.

River stared at him.

'I refuse to believe you are as stupid as you act Jayne,' said Mal, 'Just isn't possible for a human to be able t' walk 'n talk and be that dumb.'.

'I am open to belief,' said River.

Kaylee walked into the cockpit wiping her hands on a rag made from one of Wash's old shirts, a particularly repellent shirt that Zoe had donated to the engine-room rag-fund long before he had died.

'Hey Captain,' she said, 'Ooooh. What you got there?'

'Was hopin' you could tell me. Thing ain't givin' off a blip. If it weren't for our pilot's excellent senses we'd now be nothin' more than a smokin' crater in the side of her hull.'

'That a fact? Well done you River, savin' our lives and findin' treasure all into the bargain.' She patted River on the shoulder and the younger woman could not stop a smile spreading across her face.

Kaylee tucked the rag in her belt and took a seat at the top of the stairs that led between the two pilot positions. She stared down at the mysterious ship and sat for a moment in silent contemplation then pointed up to their right. 'River bring us about that way. Take us over to those rows of panels.'

River pulled back and round on the stick giving Serenity little boosts as she synchronised their position with the slowly spinning ship. They were less than twenty meters away from the other massive hull. Kaylee pulled a torch out of a pocket and shone it through the windows. She illuminated a section just under their nose.

'Anyone read that?' she asked.

'Kessel…?' attempted Mal.

'Slick…?' attempted Jayne.

'Silver Kestrel,' said River.

'The Silver Kestrel,' said Kaylee, 'Now that's just plain impossible.'


	2. Chapter 2

**Ghost Ship**

**Two**

** They watched as** below them a transparent dome slid into view. River leant back in the chair and switched on Serenity's exterior spot-lights. With a small toggle switch she pointed them towards the dome. The beams of light penetrated the glass-like material and silver discs glided across tables and curtains and a dance-floor deep within the belly of the beast. A chandelier almost the size of Serenity's cargo-hold threw back a frozen glitter effect. Tiny shards of reflected light oozed across the ceiling of the cockpit and Mal was momentarily flecked in dancing sparks.

'Beautiful,' said River, 'It is saying hello.'

'There ain't no-one saying nothin' River,' said Mal, 'Just mirrors and light is all. Kaylee, what do you know of this ship?'

'Just talk is all Cap'n.'

'So share the talk engine-rat,' said Jayne.

Kaylee threw the rag on her belt at Jayne's face. He threw it back at her. Mal caught the rag in mid-air with his one good arm and nodded for her to keep talking.

'Way I had it tole t'me, that there was the private yacht of Yurgi Halbelbach's great-grandson Hal Junior the third,' said Kaylee.

Jayne let out a thin whistle and stood up. He grabbed one of the conduit housings that ran along the roof of the cock-pit and used it to lean forwards so he could get a better look at the Kestrel.

'Who we talkin' about here?' asked Mal.

'Yurgi 'Hal' Halbelbach, pioneer on one of the first ships to come from the earth-that-was. Owner of the first bank on Arial. Founder and patriarch of the Blue Sun Corporation,' said River.

Mal turned his chair to follow Jayne's gaze out the window.

'See Hal Junior was a terra-former and he liked to survey his planets being made,' said Kaylee, 'he toured the skies in the Kestrel with his family and all the aristocrats and fat-cats of the day havin' parties the likes of which we can only imagine. Mineral barons, ship-builders, politicians; all the money in the 'verse lookin' down on the rest of us getting' born into dirt.'

Mal felt his fist tighten its grip on the padding of the arm-rest.

'Sounds like Hal turned himself into an easy target,' he said.

'That's the way it goes,' continued Kaylee. 'All that planet buildin' 'd given Hal delusions of adequacy. Reckoned that the government of the day, whatever it was called 'fore it was the Alliance, didn't move quickly enough. Didn't understand his genius and the 'verse would be better off if he was runnin' things.'

'So the government offed Hal and his supporters and Blue Sun continued on under a different, more government friendly branch of the family.'

'No-one knows fer sure,' said Kaylee. 'The Silver Kestrel just went missin' in core space and was never heard off again. It was a mystery, greatest mystery of the day; never solved.'

''Til today,' said Jayne.

'Must 'a just floated out 'a the core, through the dust-belt planets and all the way out here.' Kaylee's voice sounded distant as she contemplated the Kestrel.

Jayne broke the silence.

'So let's get done talkin'. My britches are startin' to feel too small; all this chitter when there's liberatin' to be getting' on with.'

Mal gave his gang-master a disgusted look.

''Fore we do any liberatin' of what's not ours we're goin' to go see if there's anyone alive on that boat first,' he said.

'C'mon Mal, don't take fancy scanners t'see that there is nothing more than a big ol' coffin full'a rich folks. God bless their souls and all that, respectful like.'

'This is a Med-Express ship,' said Mal, 'Authorities are goin' to be scrutinisin' us when we get back to the barn and although I'm sure Simon will be glad of any additional legal coin we turn up I don't think he'll look so kindly on us bringin' disrepute on the business; such as wedding rings pulled off century old corpses and the like. Would be bad for our profit margin.'

'I think Jayne might be right,' said Kaylee, 'there's no way there's anyone left alive on that boat. Hasn't been in a hundred years I'll bet. Though…'

'Oh now do I not like the sound 'f that,' said Jayne. 'What you mean _though_…?'

'It's just another story about Hal and his family. Part of the reason why they always stayed on the ship and never came down to solid ground. You sure none 'f you is never heard 'bout the mutant kids?'

The three other occupants of Serenity stared at Kaylee.

'Tell us of the mutant children,' said River.

'Yes. Please do,' said Jayne.

'See the way it goes is that Hal had himself a beautiful wife but she couldn't give him a child to carry on his name. She got pregnant often enough and they all went to the full nine months but when they came out…' Kaylee contorted her body and made a loud breathing noise through a squinty, crumpled face.

'Stop that,' said Jayne.

Kaylee kept talking with her body in that twisted position. 'They were all kinds of freakish wrong. Something to do with all the radiation that had come from the early terra-forming processes had made Hal's wife's insides a sick place to grow babies.' She got up onto her feet in a series of jerking movements and began to shuffle towards Jayne. He backed off.

'Then what happened,' asked River.

'Well some say that to begin with they all came out dead but Hal sent his wife to the best doctors in the core but they couldn't do nothin' so he took her to some Hoodoo priestesses and then the babies started comin' out alive and stayin' that way until finally Hal's wife died while havin' one last kid; the worst of the lot. A mutant the like of which had never been seen before in the history 'f the 'verse.'

River laughed and clapped her hands with glee.

Mal looked out the window at the Kestrel.

'So Jayne,' he said, 'Your britches startin' to feel a little looser yet?'


	3. Chapter 3

**Ghost Ship**

**Three**

**A metallic clang** filled Serenity as the two ships docked. River ran through the protocols to seal the ships together and after a minute of button flicking turned and nodded at Mal; they were good to go.

'Okay,' said Mal, 'let's get ready.'

They filed out of the cockpit each with their own jobs to do in order to prepare to board the Kestrel. Jayne dropped straight down into his bunk and started gathering weapons from the rack on the wall. He laid them out in order of preference on his bed.

On the walkway that ran between the bunks Mal stopped to speak to Kaylee and River.

'This is going to be a simple job. We slip in; if there's any danger we slip straight out again and are gone one sweaty minute later. If the ship's safe we each got our responsibilities to see to. Kaylee you look to getting the power up and running. We need computers first, gravity comes next then life-support. Anything more will be a bonus.'

Kaylee was gathering her hair at the back of her head and she held an elastic scrunchee between her teeth. She nodded once.

'River, once Kayle gives you power you get the computers talkin'. I want 'a know exactly what happened on that ship. I need layouts of the floors. How many crew and passengers were on board, where they is at now and what sort 'a cargo they might 'a been carryin'. Get the doors up and runnin' if you can but info comes first. No heroics. Clear?'

River gave him a defiant salute.

'Jayne's got the most time clocked in an EV suit so he's in charge. What he says goes, least 'til I get on board.'

'You not comin' captain?' said Kaylee.

Mal indicated the stump where his right arm used to be.

'Man that can't get into 'r out 'f his own EV suit without help ain't nothin' more than a liability. I'll be linked into your headsets all the way. Be keepin' the engines warm, just in case.'

Kaylee gave him a look of concern but swept it from her face quickly in case it upset him. Jayne climbed out of his bunk with a large mesh strap-bag full of weaponry over one shoulder.

'What we all doin' waitin' round here fer? Scared to go anyplace without old Jayne t' hold yer hand? Get yer suits on! We got liberatin' to be gettin' at.'

The two women ran away laughing at the ridiculous big man.

As Jayne passed by Mal took hold of his upper arm.

'Lost a lot of crew just of late. Down to us four now. Can't abide the thought of losin' anyone else.'

Jayne stared at Mal's hand on his arm and snorted.

'Way I was thinkin' few less crew'd mean higher percentage of the business fer me.'

Mal tightened his grip on Jayne's arm.

'No foolin' Jayne. Bring 'em all home safe.'

Jayne shrugged Mal's hand off his arm and put the palm of his own hand stiffly into Mal's chest. Mal grunted with the impact even though it was many times less forceful than Jayne was capable of.

'Don't go havin' me embarrass you Mal. I understand what we're doin' here prob'ly better'n you do. All in this together. You, me, Kaylee and River. All equals.' He shrugged the strap-bag higher up on his shoulder and turned to walk away. 'All pard'ners,' he said.

**Mal sat in the pilot's seat** and stared at the grainy black and white image on the screen in front of him. Through the security camera in the cargo-bay air-lock he watched as his crew prepared themselves to enter the Kestrel. He adjusted his ear piece; Jayne was coming through too loudly. Mal moved the camera about the air-lock. Jayne was wearing his old EV suit and its yellow material looked dirty and unwashed through the camera's lens. Kaylee and River were clothed in brand new Med-Express EV suits; they were white with brown piping and the logo in red and black on their chests.

River's suit was fitted exactly to her dimensions and was much smaller than the other two and the restrictions it placed on her movements made her look and move like a child. She was turning her fish-bowl shaped head slowly between Jayne and Kaylee as she followed their conversation. Over one shoulder she carried a case holding three slabs designed for running systems analysis software.

Jayne's bag of weaponry was lying at his feet. His face-plate was up and he was adjusting the coupling power of a magnetic grapple gun. On his hip he had a wide-bore lithium-flare gun that he had cut the trigger guard off so he could use it while his hands were gloved. It was a weapon that could be used to devastating effect close-up in a vacuum.

Kaylee had the most gear with her. It was piled up in tidy webbed parcels on a small gurney. Mal could see a large toolbox, two spot-lights, a blowtorch and its gas tank as well as a silver cylinder nearly as big as her torso; a portable power-cell.

Jayne stood up and snapped his helmet closed.

'Alright,' he said, 'final checks everyone.'

They inspected each others suits to make sure all the seals were secure and that the gas regulators were full and running correctly.

Jayne's voice rose above the sound of three people breathing in Mal's ear.

'We're all good. Over to you Mal.'

'Confirmed. Sealing inner hull now. Hull seal good. Extracting air; starting… now!'

Mal watched as the three figures in the screen before him were exposed to a vacuum equal to that outside the hull. There was no difference he could see on the screen but in his ear all external sounds disappeared. He was only hearing what was going on in each of their suits.

'We all good?' asked Jayne.

Mal could see River and Kaylee raise their thumbs to Jayne.

'Okay,' said Mal, 'depressurising complete. Cutting charge to gravity plates in three… two… one… now!'

The three EV suited figures rose into the air in Serenity's air-lock. Kaylee seemed to panic for a moment, her feet thrashed and she flailed around until she managed to get a grip of the wall.

'Sorry.' She said breathlessly through the ear-piece. 'Sorry, got a bit freaked out. Okay now.'

'Just stay calm lil' K,' said Jayne, 'once we get inside and figure out which way is up you can switch on the mag-boots. Get your feet on the ground. You'll feel better then.'

'Ready to open the external hatches Jayne?' said Mal.

'That's a go,' said Jayne. He steadied himself against the wall opposite the hatch and waited. Mal sent the signal and both sets of metal doors slid open utterly silently. A cloud of dust entered the airlock from the Kestrel and a rectangle of the perfectly black interior of the other ship appeared on Mal's screen.

'We got positive pressure in there. Give Uncle Jayne a clear line now ladies.'

Jayne raised the magnetic grapple gun to his shoulder and fired the coupler straight into the centre of the darkness. The wall of the air-lock took the recoil of the shot as the coil of cable was eaten up by the black. The cable stopped moving as the coupler attached to an as yet unseen surface. Jayne clamped the gun to the wall and hit the rewind motor. After a few seconds the cable went taught and oscillated smoothly before them. Jayne and Kaylee clamped their webbed equipment to the cable. Jayne hooked himself onto the cable and drew the flare gun.

'I'm goin' in first. Kaylee you bring the gear. River you take up the rear. Hope you girls took a toilet break 'cause it's gonna be a time 'fore we get back.'

With that said Jayne pushed himself off the wall and guided by their lifeline flew headlong into the Kestrel. Kaylee hooked herself to the cable behind the gear and began to push the weightless equipment in front of her as she slowly slipped into shadow. River was left on her own in the grainy light of Mal's screen. He felt a sensation close to heartbreak to see her standing there alone; it was like seeing a child taking its first steps into adulthood unaided.

River curled her body under her and sprang off a wall. She tucked and turned in mid-air, threw a wave at the camera and launched herself through the door without first tethering herself to the cable.

Mal was left staring at a snowy screen showing nothing more than the walls of the airlock. He switched it off and reclined in the seat with his eyes closed. He concentrated on the sounds of his crew coming to him through the earpiece as they crept their way into the ghost ship. It was a long time since he had felt so helpless.


	4. Chapter 4

**Ghost Ship**

**Four**

**Jayne's senses were in turmoil**. He couldn't tell up from down as he left the familiar territory of Serenity and plummeted into the unknown space beyond. He felt that he should be falling directly down, headfirst towards the ground, but his mind was completely thrown by the fact that his lowered hands were gliding across a wide wooden floor. It was like leaping off a cliff into dark water with no idea of where the submerged rocks would be.

He came to the end of the cable sooner than he expected and twisted to try and break his forward momentum. His shoulder collided hard with a solid surface and he had to clench his teeth and squeeze his eyes hard to ride through the pain. He got his feet under him. The magnetic soles would not engage. He looked down and with the pin-lights in his helmet illuminated a sheet of glass. He could see a shop beneath him; mannequins clothed in voluminous dresses projecting like ivory growths from what he felt should be a lower wall.

Jayne took a snap-stick from a pouch on his belt and cracked it. A halo of luminous green light surrounded him and he swallowed a yell after finding himself looking straight into River's smiling face.

'Thought I tole you to take up the rear,' he said. 'Where's Kaylee?'

'I'm here,' came Kaylee's panting voice through his earpiece, 'I'm here. Just below you.'

River shot upwards from Jayne's perspective and flicked in the air like a little fish, silhouetted by the square of light coming from the doorway into Serenity. River turned Kaylee upside down and unclipped the strap-bag of weapons and propelled them at Jayne. He stopped them with a grunt and put them on the glass at his feet. Kaylee slid along the cable behind him guiding her gear with her. She touched down.

'Oooh would you get a load of those,' she said staring at the dresses, 'Do you think they have shoes? I bet they have shoes in there.'

Jayne pulled one of the spotlights from Kaylee's gear. He threw it to River who had wedged herself between the cable and the wooden floor. She had positioned herself as the ship's gravity would have orientated her, at ninety degrees to them. She caught the lamp and switched it on. She shone it down the length of the room they were in, sweeping it from side to side. It was a wide promenade lined with a mall. The floor curved away from the line of shops like the body of a guitar ending in a long series of smoky viewing galleries. The room was so long that the powerful light did not penetrate the shadows at either end.

Jayne attached the snap-stick to the cable. It would mark the location of their exit route. He took the other spotlight for himself and shouldered the weapons. He took the portable power unit because it would have the most inertia and left the toolbox and blowtorch for Kaylee to shift. Kaylee had moved along the mall to the next unit.

'Chocolate,' she said with her face as close to the glass as her helmet would permit. 'Does chocolate go off? River do you know if chocolate goes off?'

'What do you see,' asked Mal through their headphones, 'besides chocolate?'

'Promenade,' said Jayne, 'No signs of life or trouble. No damage of any sort. Just seems deserted. Abandoned.'

'There are stairs ahead both ways,' said River, 'and corridors going through the shops deeper into the ship.'

'Mal?'

'Got to find the operations centre Jayne; the cockpit, engine room. Anywhere you can link into the mainframe. Look along the walls, find a sign with directions. That kind of boat there should be maps with floor-plans to the fore and aft for public use; locations of escape pods and muster points on them. Areas restricted for crew only.'

'Got it,' said Jayne.

The sound of River taking a sharp intake of breath came to them all through their ear-pieces. Jayne raised his head to her position to see a large section of Serenity's interior bulkhead eclipse the light streaming through the doorway to the air-lock. The tension in the cable must have been too strong for the securing bolts. River was spinning in space unable to find a surface to push off as the reinforced steel accelerated towards her under the pull of the retracting cable. The sound of the panel hitting her was transmitted straight into each of their heads.

'What was that?' shouted Mal.

Jayne pushed off the glass to get out of the way as River and the metal came towards them. But Kaylee's attention was elsewhere. She was struck straight across the back and screamed out of a combination of pain and surprise. The glass underneath her shattered into a billion brittle splinters and both women disappeared out of Jayne's eye-line.

**'What is going on?'** shouted Mal into the headphone. The screen on the panel in front of him crackled into life. A fractured, coloured image spat across the monitor. A voice came through the speakers.

'Serenity? Come in Serenity this is Dundee. Come in Serenity.'

It was Simon waving from the Med-Express warehouse on Dundee.

Mal toggled a response. Even though his voice was coming through clearly Simon refused to resolve into a clear image.

'Hello,' said Simon, 'is that you Mal?'

In his right ear Mal could hear agitated and fearful sounds coming from Kaylee. Jayne was shouting both the women's names. River was silent. He had no idea what was going on. He pulled the communication device from his head. He needed to concentrate on one thing at a time.

'Simon. This is Mal. You're comin' thru in bits. Can you hear me? Respond.'

'Mal, yes I can hear you. How are things?'

Simon sounded cheerful and ready for a conversation.

'Things are good Simon. How're things your end?'

'Shiny. Just received delivery of the new Firefly.'

'That a fact,' said Mal as he scrambled over to the comms panel, 'how many's that then now?'

'That's our third. Cruiser is downstairs right at this moment holding interviews for the new crew.'

'Three. That there is a fleet you're buildin' Doc.'

Mal scanned started scanning the surrounding space for any activity. He leapt back to the pilot's seat.

'We're building Mal. We're building. So how did the job on the Anishilous station go? All to plan?'

'Not really,' lied Mal, 'bit of a problem there to be honest.'

Why was he lying? Why was he lying to Simon? They had dropped off their consignment at the station two days earlier, ahead of schedule, and had been well on their way back to Dundee when they had narrowly avoided powering right into the side of the Kestrel.

'What has happened? Is there anything I can do to help?' asked Simon.

'No. Not a thing. Gas giant the station orbits 's throwin' out a bit 'a storm. Magnetic fields are jumpin' off the dials. We're just sittin' tight 'til it passes. Two days we're told.'

Mal scanned the Kestrel for power signatures. He picked up the earphone and could hear Jayne shouting to Kaylee. He put it down again.

'Well I'm sure you'll find plenty to occupy yourselves,' said Simon. Mal raised his eyebrows at that statement. Why was he lying to Simon? He knew why. It was because in less than six months Simon Tam had made a better job of improving the lives of Serenity and her crew than Mal had done in five years. Mal couldn't forget the day he had stood in Simon's office in Dundee and opened the brown envelope that Simon had just given him. Simon was leaning back in his chair with a beatific smile on his face, watching him.

'What is this,' Mal had asked, 'I already been paid this month.'

'That,' Simon had said, 'is your dividend.'

'My what?'

'Your quarterly share of the company profits.'

Mal had stared at the amount of money he was holding. It was enough to fuel Serenity twice over. But that was not something he had to concern himself about any more. The ship was fueled on the company's credit. He had more money in his personal account than he had had since buying the ship. They were constantly busy and all the jobs were legit. And there he was holding more. He had never felt so emasculated in his life. So he knew why he was lying to Simon. The Kestrel was his chance to win big. To show Simon and the rest of the crew that he still had what it took. That Malcolm Reynolds hadn't sold out his dreams for lousy dividends.

'Mal can I talk to Kaylee?' came Simon's voice through the speaker.

'She's a mite busy at the moment Simon. Shieldin' the engine and such.'

Mal checked the scanners. They were reading zero energy from the Kestrel. He began to fiddle with the relay with Dundee.

'Simon,' he said, 'think the storm is pickin' up again; you seem to be breakin' up.'

'Mal? Mal how is River?'

Mal hesitated. His stomach knotted.

'River's River Simon.'

'She's okay then? It's just that I've started her on some new medication. It seems to be working so far but I don't know if there will be any side effects. I've asked Kaylee to keep an eye on her…'

Mal tweaked the relay harder. Static filled the speaker and the sporadic image of Simon disappeared completely.

'No River's fine Simon. Better than I've seen her in an age. Gotta go. See you in a few days. Serenity out.'

Mal cut his connection with civilization.


	5. Chapter 5

**Ghost Ship**

**Five**

**Jayne grabbed the edge of the broken window **and looked down into the shop. Kaylee was a few meters away, twisting in space holding on tight to one of the pale mannequins. Glass and clothing drifted around her.

'You find a friend?' he said, 'Should Simon be worried?'

'Jayne, what happened?'

'Panel the mag-grapple was attach'd to broke free. Gun went into rewind fer some reason, dragged the whole lot 'n River down 'n top of you. You hurt?'

'Panel came off Serenity. Right! That never happens. Throw me a line.'

Jayne hooked a loop of cable floating near him and flicked it towards her. She reached out and caught the line and Jayne pulled her to him without having to expend much effort. He grabbed her ankle as she passed by and pulled her close.

'Thanks,' she said rubbing her shoulder. 'Where's River? River? Can you hear me?'

'She ain't respondin'. Reckon she went further in than you.'

'I can't see her. Jayne, pull the rest of the cable up. Maybe she's holding on to the other end.'

Jayne started to heave on the cable pulling it up out of the room below. After less than a minute the panel came into view. He brought it close with a hard yank. There was no sign of River. Jayne felt a burst of anger ignite his chest. He had been put in charge and already he had lost one of his team.

'Stay put Kaylee. If Mal comes back online tell him what's occurrin' but don't move. You be here when I get back.'

He leaned forwards and pushed his weightless bulk off the floor and into the remains of the hundred year old shop.

**River tried to move**. She remembered colliding with Kaylee and then going through a second sheet of glass. Plastic people had reached for her as she had passed but she had avoided their hands. They had floated after her, flash-frozen figments of empty perfection, silent but imploring with their arms extended out to her. She had unwound herself from the snare that had caught her and it had slipped away like a snake streaking through the ocean. Then she had come to a stop and her head had made lights fill her eyes.

River rolled over and found herself pressing against a mirror with an elaborate gold frame. She felt cold. She raised her head and a movement caught her eye. It was too fast to make out what it had been. Was it a reflection? Her eyes were still fizzing and her helmet wasn't cooperating; she couldn't turn her head quickly enough to follow what she had seen. Lights were moving above her; two bright beams from the spotlights. She called out to the rest of the crew but there was no answer from any of them. She held on to the frame and gathered her legs under her. Again something shot past the corner of her eye. She whirled with her back to the solid mirror and the sound of her heavy breathing filled her world. Her breath condensed on the face-plate of her helmet in quickly contracting grey bursts.

The spotlights shone through the fabric of dresses floating in space throwing out random colours that were quickly consumed by the dark. She called out the names of her crew and could hear the tremble of fear in her voice. No answer came. She realised that the comms unit in her helmet must have been damaged in the accident. She was isolated.

River had the terrible feeling that there was something behind her. But there could not be. Her back was to the wall. She slowly turned and looked at the reflection of herself in the mirror; a white body with a glowing head. Over the reflection of her left shoulder something red caught her attention. One of the dresses floated out of the shadows and billowed out like the frilly apron of a deep-sea invertebrate. River turned her head and looked back over her shoulder into the shop. There was no red dress to be seen. There was nothing moving there at all. She whipped her head back to the plane of the mirror and in the instant it took her eyes to refocus the dress took form, gathering itself into the shape of a small human body; a young girl with the hair at either side of her head braided into tight dark tails.

River stared at the reflection. The girl was diaphanous, almost intangible and the beams from the spotlights seemed to pass through her without illuminating her. River shivered from the cold and a powerful hand grasped the material at her back and spun her round. It was Jayne. She could see him talking to her, his face was animated but no sound was coming through to her.

Above Jayne's face, within the glass surface of his face-plate, River could see a reflection of the red-dressed girl. She was moving closer. Jayne took a firmer hold of her shoulders with both hands and shook River to get her attention. The girl's face filled Jayne's helmet. Her eyes were opaque white orbs swiveling like dead things on hooks and Jayne's beard seemed to be growing out of rotting folds of skin. The girl's putrefying mouth opened and a roaring filled River's mind as she screamed and pulled back her fist and drove it straight into the apparition's visage. Jayne's face-plate broke clean in two under the impact of the blow and his air supply blasted out his EV suit into the vacuum of the ship.


	6. Chapter 6

**Ghost Ship**

**Six**

**Kaylee lay on the glass front** of the shop and pointed her spotlight down into the dark below. Her hands were shaking and the pain in her shoulder was starting to spread into her neck and back and increase in severity. On the other side of the glass Jayne's figure drifted through her beam like a stone sinking to the depths. She could hear his rough breathing through her earpiece as he moved detritus out of his way while he looked for River. A swell of material, broken glass, railings and shoes rose above him and when Kaylee shone the light back on where she had last seen him Jayne was gone from sight. Only the dresses moved through the space below her, undulating away from him and towards her. She suddenly felt very vulnerable and exposed, all alone in this enormous, dark chamber in a deserted ship. Thoughts of Reavers would not leave her mind.

She knew it was a ridiculous notion, but once the thought had taken hold she could not convince her mind to be quiet. Her imagination seemed to want to do nothing more constructive than conjure up unsettling images. It was telling her that there was something behind her, creeping closer, slavering and fangy with a taste for engineers' brains. Kaylee knew that if she actually turned round to check on something she knew was could not possibly be there she would be giving in to her fears and it would just open the floodgates to more nonsense so she held her ground and refused to look.

'Jayne,' she said, 'any sign 'f her yet?'

'Can't see nuthin' cept puffery,' came back his response.

'River? If you can hear me try to move somethin'. Let us know where you're at. Jayne's comin' to get you.'

'Quiet up Kaylee, runnin' my damn ear raw wit awl yer yakkin'. Wait! What… there she is.'

'You see her? She alright?'

'Huh… that girl ain't been right in an age.'

Kaylee could hear Jayne as he manoeuvred his mass closer to River.

'Wha's that crazy blade up t'now?' he mumbled to himself.

'What's wrong Jayne? Is she okay?'

'Seems fine 's far 's I can see, got her face pressed into a mirror. Looks like she' holdin' on fer dear life. River!'

Jayne said River's name a few more times, then a 'Got her,' came through the earpiece.

'C'mere girl,' he said. 'Damn! Pitchin' a fit. River! Snap outta it darlin'. River!'

The young woman's name was the last word Kaylee heard him say. She listened to the creaking of his suit as Jayne performed some exertive movement and then took in a sharp breath, started to shout something, and after an explosive squawk the line went silent.

'Jayne?' said Kaylee. 'Jayne you there? Come in Jayne. Respond. Stop messin' about. Come in. Please. Jayne? River? Mal? Anyone?'

**Kaylee mentally slapped herself** across the face and tried to get a grip on her heart-rate. Now she really was alone. She felt the desperate need to run; to escape. She wanted to be nowhere else but in her hammock listening to Serenity gently purr her way back to Simon in Dundee. Kaylee turned her head towards the square of light that led back into Serenity's airlock. One good push of her legs and she could be there; could be on her way back to safety. But she couldn't bring herself to do that. She couldn't leave the rest of the crew.

'Mal? You there Mal?'

There was no answer from her captain. What was she supposed to do? Where had he gone to? He had said he'd be there. Kaylee moved closer to the broken edge of the shop-front and leaned over. She had to go down there. She had to help. River hit the underside of the glass with enough force to knock Kaylee off its surface. River's boots scudded across the slick material as she thrashed with something underneath her. Kaylee scrambled to control her movement away from her crewmates. River arched her back and Jayne's body arced through the broken hole. Something red and slick was wrapped around his head.

Like one of those long, slinky springs that children like to play with, River followed Jayne out of the hole in one fluid movement without letting go of the back of his head. Kaylee grabbed Jayne's leg and pulled herself up his body. River had what looked like a mini-skirt made of a rubberized material wrapped around his head and she was holding the back of the stretched material tightly like a tourniquet. Kaylee grabbed her arm and River turned her head within her helmet to look at her. Kaylee would never forget the look of desperation on her pale face. Her dark hair was plastered to her skin with tears.

River turned Jayne's head and Kaylee instantly understood what was happening: Jayne's faceplate was broken. She grabbed his wrist and checked the reading of his suit pressure on a small monitor. It was reading zero. River had not been quick enough to seal the hole in his suit.

'Hold on River. Just keep holding on. Don't you let go.'

Kaylee propelled herself across the shop-front and grabbed her heavy toolbox with both arms. Its inertia was great enough to stop her movement. She fought to open its clasps but the gloves of the EV suit were stiff and hard to bend and the tips of her fingers kept slipping off. She could feel every second slipping by as if they were the last grains of sand tumbling out of the hourglass that measured the length of Jayne Cobb's mortal life. Kaylee realized that this is why Simon behaved in the detached way he did. It was because he had spent years training to suppress this panic; this fear that accompanied having another person's life in your hands. She popped the lid and emptied the contents of the box out. She scattered the tools floating in front of her until she saw what she was looking for and grabbed it, an emergency sealant-gun.

She dived back towards River and Jayne and cracked the safety of the gun. A spray of granular particles exited its nozzle. She aimed it at his head and played the discharge over him as calmly as she was able. The granules began to foam on contact and expand and join together and harden to form a seamless shell. Kaylee pushed River out of the way and started to coat the back of his head moving the spray down over the edges of the skirt around his neck and over his shoulders. She kept the trigger depressed until the canister ran dry. River floated away with body curled up and her hands clasped tight under her chin.

Kaylee tossed the gun and checked the pressure monitor on his wrist again. It was still at zero. She could feel panic begin to overwhelm her. She tried to imagine a life without Jayne in it and found it to be a terrible prospect. She fiddled with the readout on the monitor as quickly as she was able to with her gloved hands. She cycled through its readings. The air in the tank of his suit came up. It was almost full. That didn't make sense. Then suddenly it did. Jayne's suit must have an in-built shut-off valve that was programmed to activate if a catastrophic failure was detected. She scrolled through the options menu on the monitor and found what she was looking for: a valve control. She deactivated it and Jayne's suit instantly rippled under her hands as it pressurised.

As his helmet filled with air sound was once again transmitted to his microphone and Kaylee heard the unmistakable sound of Jayne taking a deep, ragged breath. She was unable to stop her body buckle as the tension that had screwed itself into her bones was released. He was alive.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

**Ghost Ship**

**Seven**

**Jayne pushed himself **into a crawling position and the sound of his panting was one of the best sounds Kaylee had ever heard. She indicated to River to come to her. The younger woman glided over and Kaylee took her in a massive hug and held her tightly, it hurt her shoulder terribly, the pain burnt like a red-hot coal wedged deep within the ball of the joint but she held on because she sensed that River needed the contact. Through the layers of synthetic material that separated them Kaylee felt River tremble as she cried. Kaylee patted her helmet and even though River couldn't hear her, she spoke soothing words to her.

'Don't cry River. No reason to cry. You did good. Real good. You saved Jayne.'

River looked up at Kaylee and smiled weakly at her. She might not have been able to hear Kaylee's words but she was able to feel her intent and was grateful.

'Now that,' said Jayne in a rasping voice, 'was damned unpleasant.'

'You okay Jayne?'

'Been better Kaylee, been much better. River?'

'She's right here. She saved your life.'

Jayne made an indistinct sound. Kaylee could not tell whether it was a dismissive grunt or an ironic chuckle. Jayne straightened his body and raised his hands to inspect his head.

'Kaylee, you tell me why the on'y thin' I can see 's the inside of whit looks like bondage gear?'

'River wrapped your helmet in a rubber mini-skirt.'

'Right,' said Jayne, 'shiny, never thought 'd be grateful for rich folks 'n their dirty inclinations.'

'I don't know what I'm hearin' but I'm feelin' a mite disconcerted,' came Mal's voice through their earpieces.

'Captain! You're back.'

'Whoopee-doo,' said Jayne, 'we've been rescued.'

'What's happenin'?' asked Mal ignoring Jayne, 'last thing I heard was a whole lot a'ruckusin' and then everythin' went dead. Couldn't hear a thing 'til you came back fillin' my ear with sex-talk. Everyone good?'

'There was an accident but we're alright now. Jayne's suit was damaged, he lost pressure but he's doing okay,' said Kaylee.

'Right,' said Mal, 'that's enough, come on back to Serenity, we aren't kitted out for salvage operations. We can attach a buoy, stake our claim and head home, plan what to do next from there.'

'No,' said Jayne, 'we ain't done here yet Mal.'

'Jayne you gotta know by now that I don't do discussin'. I want all three 'f you back on the boat like your heels were on fire.'

'Mal this is a chance we ain't never gonna get again,' said Jayne, 'a shot to do this oursel's with no one outside houndin' 'r glory. We got plenty 'f air in the tanks. I vote for goin' on, least as far as a node.'

'Jayne I tole you once already, don't intend makin' it three; come back to Serenity.'

'But captain…' said Kaylee.

'Kaylee you got your orders. Be a good girl and get back on board now!'

Kaylee didn't like the tone of Mal's voice or his choice of words.

'Jayne,' she said, 'you think you're up to carryin' the gear?'

'Yup. Can do, but can't see squat.'

'Kaylee I'm warning you…'

'That's not a problem Jayne,' said Kaylee ignoring Mal's growl. She turned to River. She pointed at her, then at Jayne and then at her own face, indicating both her eyes with two spread fingers, 'River'll do the seein' for you.' River nodded and floated over to Jayne and started helping him strap the gear on.

Kaylee took one of the spotlights and held it in her good right hand while she waited for River and Jayne to get ready.

'Mal this is the Silver Kestrel,' she said, 'greatest mystery of the twenty-fourth century. We got to at least try a bit harder 'fore we give up on 'er.'

Kaylee could hear Mal grinding his teeth. In her mind's eye she could see him sitting with his head down seething in Wash's old chair.

'Okay,' he finally said, 'I relent, but we will be havin' words 'bout this you and I.'

River hooked one of her arms through one of Jayne's and gave Kaylee a thumbs-up sign. They were ready to go.

'Don't be frettin' captain,' said Kaylee, 'ain't nothin' to hurt us in here but our own stupidity. We'll be careful. It'll be shiny. You'll see.'

They set off, an injured Kaylee taking charge of a deaf and dumb River who was in turn leading a blind Jayne by the hand; three miniscule specks of life drifting through the frigid expanse of the upturned ship.

**River guided Jayne through** the doorway at the end of the promenade and into a heart-shaped landing full of white stone columns. As the Kestrel gently rotated weak rays of collected starlight came from different directions casting gray pools of light against the ships interior. Kaylee was floating ahead, somewhere in the centre of the room shining the spotlight around her. She was looking for a sign that would tell them where they were in the ship. River held onto the door handle and a heavily burdened Jayne drifted past her. She grabbed his collar and brought him to a halt.

Kaylee ran the beam of light over a pair of enormous wooden doors. She glided over to them and pushed them open. Bunting and decorations wafted towards her from inside. She hovered in the doorway shining the beam of light into the room beyond. River could see the light dancing through the space on the other side of a green and red stain-glass window. River could not settle herself. She knew she needed to be calm if she was going to follow Kaylee's cues and safely guide Jayne, but the contents of her stomach were threatening to leap out of her mouth. She wanted to feel air on her skin and run her fingers through her hair and be barefoot. But she could do none of those things at the moment. She tried laughing to see if that would make her feel better but it didn't; what was a laugh if no one else could hear it other than a unwelcome visitor?

Kaylee pushed away from the doors and travelled through the spots of grey starlight and towards the base of a wide flight of stairs. They seemed to be made out of more of the dark wood. Smooth marbled balustrades snaked between the floors of the ship and bannisters of intricately worked gold glinted coldly. Kaylee pointed to a section of the wall and Jayne instantly started to pull on River's arm as if Kaylee had said something to him through his working earpiece. River put her body underneath his and propelled them both to Kaylee. River thought of the girl she had seen deep down in the dark when she had been alone. Had she been real or just a hallucination generated by stress and fear? Perhaps her new medication was starting to have unpredictable side-effects; she couldn't be sure, River could never tell the effects of one pill from another. She judged their efficacy, when it occurred to her to do so, by how others looked at her when they thought she wasn't watching.

But the vision had seemed so real. It had tasted real, like there had been a consciousness underlying the presence, or rather, an instant of memory stretched into infinity that was constantly recalling and then immediately forgetting that there was such a thing as being alive. There had been an emptiness associated with the experience, as if River had been touched by something lost and trapped and no longer itself. It had been like looking in the mirror and for an instant having the sensation that your reflection was looking back, but with a different set of experiences and emotions. To River the apparition had felt like a separation of things so similar it was inconceivable that they could be isolated; a schism between where River ended and another person started, like the touch between flint and steel that produced a spark and inextricably linked all three.

To River the entire experience had had an aura of destiny; as if a hundred years previously the dreaming moment of a child's death had been sealed into a coffin of steel and shot like a comet into the depths of space knowing that River would be the one to find it. And then it had grown pus-filled eyes and poured through Jayne's face and River had not been able to stop screaming.

Kaylee had moved further along the stairwell. She had cut the corner and floated between the floors of the ship. River followed with Jayne in tow, swinging their combined inertia into the space between the curving steps. Jayne struggled with a change of direction and River was forced to brace herself with her boots on his ass and her hands on a wall and push hard. Kaylee pointed the beam in the direction she intended to go and pushed off. River followed. Each floor they passed through was decorated in a different theme. One was pearlescent and orange like the incandescent flecks of a tiger's eye. Another was painted with flowers, knots of creepers and artificial tree boughs projected from the walls like the edge of an encroaching jungle. Kaylee stopped at a non-descript metal door tucked behind the trunk of a fake tree set in a concave section of wall. She let the spotlight float free and with her good hand she tried its handle. The door looked to River as if it had swung open with absolutely no resistance. Kaylee took hold of the torch and pulled her body inside. River moved Jayne to the doorway so he could feel his own way into the restricted space. Under the illumination of the pin-lights in her helmet she was able to read a sign on the door that said in a beautifully elaborate font "STAFF ONLY".

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

**Ghost Ship**

**Eight**

**Kaylee stopped at an opened airlock **and peered into the darkness that lay beyond. Her light illuminated a bleached statue of a naked man. It was positioned so that as she approached he was facing in her direction but staring blankly into the distance.

'Oh' she said, startled by the sight of his unabashed nudity rising suddenly out of the nothingness.

'What is it?' asked Mal, 'what's wrong?'

'Not speakin' to you captain, not yet anyways.'

Mal sighed down the earpiece.

'Kaylee I am sorry for shouting at you. I was out of order. You are my esteemed engineer and without your flutterin' hands keepin' Serenity flyin' all our dreams'd be nothin' more than chicks dead on the wing. Please accept my apology and tell me what the hell is goin' on before I come over there and pull all your air-pipes out.'

Kaylee ignored her ranting captain and drifted into the room; all the pain in her shoulder was momentarily forgotten.

'It's beautiful,' she said.

'What is? What's beautiful?' pushed Mal.

'I think,' said Kaylee, 'that we've made it to the bridge, though I can't be sure; I ain't ever seen one that had its own fountain before.'

Even under the narrow beam of her spotlight Kaylee could tell that the room was spectacular in its opulence. It was an enormous domed chamber with recessed arches around its lower wall housing various control panels. A giant screen, many times larger than her bunk back on Serenity dominated the front of the room. It was set in a series of towering spikes that reminded her of a church organ she had seen once as a child. Paintings decorated the walls and floating randomly above the floor were pot plants; the greenery had turned brown and had become as fragile as cobwebs after a century of exposure to the vacuum but they were still intact. In the centre of the room were a series of raised daises that resembled a wedding cake. At the top was a throne-like chair where Kaylee suspected the captain of the ship must have sat surveying the quarterdeck in days long gone by. She hooked her spotlight to the head of a gold swan and turned to check on River and Jayne.

River guided Jayne through the airlock and stopped just before they reached Kaylee. She arched her back and had to move her whole body in order to turn her helmet so she could marvel at the room for herself.

'Really is sumthin' ain't it?' said Kaylee to River even though she knew she couldn't hear her. She took hold of Jayne's arm and pulled him close.

'We there then?' asked Jayne.

'Yeah we made it. How you doing?'

'Lookin' forward to getting this rig off me. Think you can get into the systems from here?'

'If I can't get in here then we might as well turn back and get gone,' replied Kaylee. She detached the toolbox from Jayne's shoulder and hooked it on the swan beside her spotlight. He struggled out of the rest of the equipment they had brought with them and Kaylee reattached it all to a nearby rail so it wouldn't float away. She tried to keep her left arm still while she worked but it was impossible not to move the shoulder. It started to burn hard with a vengeance and she could not stop herself from letting out a slight whimper.

'You okay?' said Jayne.

'Hurt my shoulder when River came down on me; thought it was just a knock but it keeps gettin' worse.'

Jayne grunted.

'Get the power on,' he said, 'see what we see then.'

'Look for an access panel in the floor,' said Mal.

'Floor's all marble and mosaic,' said Kaylee, 'can't see nuthin' that gonna lift easy.'

Kaylee opened the toolbox and took out a battery-powered hand-motor and a crowbar. She pushed off the swan and snagged a small chair positioned at one of the alcoves with her foot and pulled her body down on it. She wrapped her legs around its base and adopted a seated position in front of the console. Above her River was working her way along the wall, hand over hand, going from picture to picture.

'Gonna try breakin' into one of the computers,' said Kaylee.

'They'll be old,' said Mal, 'mightn't work in any way you're familiar with.'

'I know,' said Kaylee as she sucked down another quiet sob, 'but they gotta have juice getting' into them some way.'

She tucked the tools between her thighs and tapped on a keyboard set into the inlaid console. Nothing happened on any of the dusty screens before her. She bent over to look under the console and a searing pain shot down her arm from her shoulder. She shut her eyes tight and waited for it to diminish in intensity. She knew that she was hurt, that there was something really wrong with her shoulder, something more than a bit of lounging in her hammock would heal and it scared her to the pit of her stomach. She found the fear was worse than the pain.

She retrieved the hand-motor and selected a bit from a small box on her belt. She slotted it into one of the bolts that was holding the panel under the console in place, thumbed the motor into reverse and pressed the trigger. It vibrated in her hand as the bit spun on the end of the bolt then it caught and the bolt grew in length as it came out of the panel. She flicked the small piece of metal away and repeated the action five more times. She wedged the motor under her ass and using the crowbar pried the panel off the body of the console. It came away easily and Kaylee straightened her back and took a few seconds to catch her breath.

'Jayne,' she said, 'turn around and you'll find a rail about the height of your hip.'

'Got it,' he said.

'Good, now pull yourself over a few paces to your right, no, your right, no, your other right. That's it. You feel those straps? Okay, one of them is the power-cell. Find it and pass it over to me.'

Jayne blindly detached the portable power-cell they had brought with them and held it up at his chest.

'Where you at?' he said.

Kaylee gave him directions and when he was pointing it at her she told him to pass it over. She caught the silver unit and put it against the floor below her and held it in place with one foot. Bending over again she opened its front and switched it on. A vertical line of small green LEDs illuminated. She reached under the console and with the side of her helmeted head on the keyboard began to feel her way through the circuitry inside.

She was looking for a relay of some sort; hoping that in the century since the Kestrel had been built wiring hadn't changed so much that she would be able to recognize one by touch even through the stiff material of the EV suit. She followed a thick bundle of wires that felt like they had more insulation than others until they were interrupted by a thick rectangular joint. She pulled at it and the joint came apart. Kaylee pulled harder on the detached wires and brought them closer to the power-cell until could see what the end looked like. She had never seen a connection like it. She checked the adaptors built into the power-cell and found one that she had never used before. She slid the wiring into the adaptor, the adaptor into the power-cell and cranked a lever under the LEDs to complete the circuit. In front of her the console screens came to life.

'We're in,' she said.

'**Excellent,' said Mal from the bridge of Serenity**, 'well done Kaylee. You've done your part, its River's turn now.'

'Right,' said Kaylee letting out the breath she had been holding for what seemed like an hour, 'just got to find her… Oh!' Kaylee jumped to find River closer than an arm's length away. The skin of her face looked hard and as bleached as the surface of the statue under the pin-lights inside her helmet. River smiled at her and indicated that Kaylee vacate the seat and let her in. Kaylee was only too happy to oblige. She floated up and pushed herself away and went limp in her EV suit letting the zero-gravity take the strain away from her muscles. Her body was covered in a thin film of oily sweat from her exertions and from having to resist giving in to the pain her shoulder was producing. But now it was over to River to get the life-support on and Kaylee felt that she could justifiably relax for a moment.

River pulled one of the slabs from the bandolier belt across her chest and switched it on. She held it on the console and began to work its touch-screen with one hand while simultaneously using the keyboard with the other. Text and systems data began to flow across the screens.

'She doin' it?' asked Jayne.

'Seems to be busy at sumthing,' said Kaylee, 'no idea what.'

'How long you reckon its gonna take her?'

'I honestly have no idea,' said Kaylee, 'Ship's a century old and then some. Who knows how long it's been since her batteries failed. Could'a been decades since anythin' more than dust 's been on those screens.'

'Kaylee, what's your air situation?' asked Mal.

Kaylee peered down her nose and focused on the small red readout on the inside of her faceplate.

'I got three hours left. River'll be the same. Jayne's gonna have less.'

She turned herself over and grabbed hold of Jayne's large egg-like head.

'Only me,' she said as she worked down his body and checked the monitor on his wrist.

'Jayne you're leaking.'

'Shiny. How long?'

'You got less than an hour of breathable left. Mal…?'

'Okay. That's enough,' said Mal, 'I was mad to have let you all go on. Reckon I need my head examined.'

'You can go with River the next time she goes fer one 'f 'er checkups,' said Jayne.

'Jayne, that's mean,' said Kaylee.

'You think that's mean you wait 'til you see what I'm gonna do to 'er soon as I get this crap off my head. That's the second time that bint 's tried to off me and that's one more than 've ever let anyone else away with. Her and I 's got a reckonin' cuming.'

'Jayne,' growled Mal, 'you don't ever threaten one of my crew.'

'Balls Mal. I done tried to work with that girl but 've had it. Just ain't worth the risk no more. I know what we're doin' right now ain't exactly in the Doc's book of what we're s'posed to be at, but that goes two ways, he's s'posed t'be runnin' a business; all proper like. She's his sister and fair enough, he's wantin to look out fer 'er, but where's it writ I gotta work with a crazy?'

'What did she do?' asked Kaylee.

'What you think happen'd to my helmet? Think it just came apart all magic like? She did it. Was down there pitchin' a fit and I grabbed her, tried to shake sum sense in t'er. Girl looks right at me and damn goes and puts her fist clean thru m'face.'

'Maybe you scared her,' said Kaylee.

'Maybe I scared her?' yelled Jayne incredulously.

'Okay Jayne,' said Mal, 'calm down, one problem at a time. I want you all heading back now and no arguments this time Kaylee. Mystery'll still be there after you refill your tanks.'

'That's all well and good Mal but after this trip I'm done. I'm serious; either she gets on one of the other boats 'r I do. I'm all kinds of regretful fer whit happed'd t'er, truly am, reckon there might've been the start of a fine woman in there at one time but not anymore and there ain't nothin' the Doc 'r any 'f his quackery can do to fix 'er. She's damaged goods, pure and simple and ah'm done waitin' fer her to find new and elaborate ways 'f killin' us all. I'm done y'hear.'

Mal understood exactly what Jayne was saying because they were exactly the same thoughts he had been struggling with almost since the second Simon Tam had brought his luggage on board Serenity a life-time ago on Persephone, but he had to maintain order and that meant not giving Jayne an inch; particularly when he was making sense.

'I'm hearing a whole load of bellyaching so that must mean I am hearing you talk Jayne, now shut your shout-hole. Kaylee gather up River and get back to the barn pronto.'

'Yes captain,' said Kaylee. She turned away from Jayne and towards the console where River was working. The seat she had been sitting in was empty and her slab was floating a foot above the screens.

'Oh no,' said Kaylee. She twisted around and looked about the whole room but she could not see River anywhere.

'What the hell's happened now?' said Mal.

'River's gone,' said Kaylee, 'I don't know where. She's just gone.'

'Shit on a stick,' said Jayne.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

**Ghost Ship**

**Nine**

'**I told you,' said Jayne, **'that girl is goin' t'be the death 'f us all.'

'Jayne, are we married?' snapped Mal.

'Wh… what…?'

'Answer me. Are we husband and wife? Have we sworn to love and treasure each other until death do us apart?'

'Mal…?'

'No. We ain't wed, so why is it that all I seem to hear comin' outta my mercenary's mouth is the bitchin' of one cod-ugly fish-wife?'

'I…?'

'Shut the hell up Jayne; bending a good man's ear sideways. Kaylee, you see any sign of her?'

Kaylee was doing a circuit of the dais that led up to the captain's position.

'She ain't here Mal. Oh, this is all our fault, talkin' 'bout her like we don't know well enough she can't help but feel what's goin' on.'

'Let it go Kaylee, won't do any good cutting strips of ourselves right now,' said Mal, 'how many ways are there out of there?'

'Just the one; same way we came in.'

'Okay go check the corridors, see if she's found a corner to curl up in.'

'Can't leave me all by my lonesome,' said Jayne.

'There goes my ear again,' said Mal.

'I'll be right back Jayne, sit tight, I'll just not be but a minute,' said Kaylee.

'No Kaylee,' said Jayne, 'first rule of expeditions, you don't split up the group.'

On the bridge of Serenity Mal clenched his teeth tight until his jaw clicked. Jayne was making sense again. Splitting up what was left of the group was the wrong decision to make. He had to keep Kaylee and Jayne working together.

'Kaylee wait,' Mal stared at the ceiling of Serenity and swore silently and profusely, 'Jayne may have a point. Don't move out of visual contact with him. Stay together. If River has decided to abandon you then that is something she'll just have to deal with herself for the meantime.'

'Hah,' said Jayne, 'listenin' to your ugly fish-wife now ain't yah?'

'Jayne,' said Mal, 'did you just refer to yourself as my ugly fish-wife?'

Jayne paused, considered his predicament and then responded.

'Mal go fu…!'

'Quiet!' said Kaylee, 'both of you; this isn't a joke. Jayne, do you feel that?'

Jayne didn't move.

'Vibration?' he said.

'Yeah,' said Kaylee, 'getting' stronger too.'

'You've got power,' said Mal, 'I'm reading an energy spike over here and it's coming from you.'

'That's just the power-cell you're pickin' up' said Kaylee.

'No,' said Mal, 'spike's growing exponentially; power-cell would just read a plateau. Something over there has started kicking out juice.'

Kaylee drifted over to the console where River had been working. She read the data streaming over the screens and then grabbed the slab that River had left synched with the system.

'She did it,' said Kaylee, 'River got the Kestrel runnin' again.'

Around the bridge the screens of the recessed consoles all came on simultaneously and at the front of the room the enormous monitor spluttered into life. The ships insignia appeared on all the screens and white progress bars began to expand from left to right.

'The ship's rebooting. River must have got the auxiliary generators up,' said Kaylee 'I can't believe she did it that quickly. How could she do that? How is it possible?'

Around the walls emergency illumination panels fluttered on and arrays of angled spots pointed down from the ceiling.

'What's happenin' Kaylee?' asked Jayne.

Kaylee grabbed the slab and checked what she was reading against the console screens. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the airlock door slip downwards and lock. She looked back at the slab.

'Jayne,' she shouted, 'get your feet down to the floor. Do it now Jayne. Quick.'

'I can't see. Where's the floor? I don't know where it is.'

Kaylee aligned herself into a bent-kneed, upright posture using the chair as a reference point and was about to tell Jayne how to reposition himself when the life-support system reinstalled the gravity drive. The artificial gravity field immediately engaged and Jayne dropped head-first to the marble floor hitting the rail on his way down. The expanded foam shell around his head cracked into two pieces upon impact and fell away from his face. He lay on the ground, red-faced and bloodshot eyed, obviously struggling to breathe properly. His hair was bathed in sweat and coated his cranium like an oil slick as he rolled over and picked up part of his broken helmet. He spoke into the microphone.

'We got air,' he said.

'Shiny,' said Mal, 'I'm on my way over.'

**Kaylee held on to the seat **and let out a low moan. The gravity coming back on had been an unpleasant sensation. It was as if all the soft parts of her body; her innards, her eyes, her tongue and her breasts, had been in freefall for hours only to come to a sudden and sickening stop against her skeleton. The pain from her shoulder flared spectacularly as gravity pulled hard on whatever it was she had damaged. She tried to move her arm, but it felt swollen and numbed. She sat in the seat and felt very, very, very sorry for herself. Kaylee's life was a lot harder than Kaylee cared for.

Jayne had opened her toolbox and spilled its contents over the floor. He was cutting at the neck and chest of his EV suit to detach the last of the foam. Once he was freed he tucked the retractable blade in his belt and unzipped the suit down the front to the waist. He peeled the yellow material from his arms and the sleeves turned inside out as he fought to get his hands out of the ends. He stood there breathing hard in a beaten, old black T-shirt with steam rising from his neck and arms. The life support had started to warm the air but it was still bitterly cold in the bridge; it would take weeks for all the internal metal flooring and bulkheads of the huge ship to warm properly. He spoke to Kaylee but she still had her helmet on and couldn't hear him clearly. She tried to remove her helmet with her one good arm but she didn't have the strength.

Jayne walked over to her and nodded at her. She shook her head. He took the sides of the helmet with both hands, released it and lifted it off her head. Kaylee breathed in clean air.

'Oh… Gods… It's… freezing in here,' she said.

'Feels better than bein' stuck in that suit. You okay?'

'No,' she said and was overwhelmed with the need to cry; it expanded in her throat like a sticky balloon and made her eyes burn. Only tears could release the pressure.

'S'alright lil'K; you done good by us,' he said, 'Got the job done. Be my pard'ner anytime.'

And the tears streamed down her face.

'Where's it hurtin'?' he said.

She put her right hand on her left shoulder.

'You clench your fist? Move your elbow?'

She nodded through the tears and did both actions.

'Lift that arm?'

She shook her head. Jayne unclasped the aluminum neck-ring that her helmet clipped into and dropped it to the floor. He took the back of her neck in one warm hand and rotated her head to the left. Then to the right and Kaylee let out a horrible yelp.

'Yup,' said Jayne. He worked his hand down her neck and onto her shoulder testing the flesh under his fingers.

'Can't feel damn thru' that suit. Gotta see if yer cut, gonna haf'ta take it off a bit. Okay?'

'Yeah. Really pinches. It's like the worst nipping pain you can imagine,' she said.

Jayne unclipped the top of her suit and ran the seal open to her waist. He spread the material and pulled the top half of the suit off her shoulders exposing the skin. She was only wearing a white vest underneath and she shivered with the cold.

'Ain't cut so that's a thing.' Jayne cupped the ball of her shoulder and tested to see whether it was loose. It wasn't.

'Ain't dislocated neither. Kaylee, you ever break a bone?'

'What? No! Girls don't break bones, only boys do.'

Jayne tapped her clavicle in the centre of the bow that ran from the base of her neck to the edge of the shoulder joint. She made a sucking sound as black spots floated in front of her eyes.

'Yeah well either you've grow'd outta bein' a girl or you need to check what's in yer pants. Collar-bone's broke; good and clean.'

'Oh God. Is that bad?'

'Well,' said Jayne stroking his beard, 'if you're gonna bust a bone it's the best of a bad lot. Hurt like hell for a few days but you'll be movin' yer arm again inside a week. Need a sling.'

Jayne pulled her suit up over her shoulders without taking too much of a look at the swell of her breasts under the cotton. He pulled off his T-shirt, tore it up one seam and folded it into a roughly triangular shape. He stood close to her and the bare flesh of his torso touched her face as he tucked the sling under her folded arm and tied it behind her neck. Kaylee's nose was filled with his smell; sweat, oil, plastic, food; the hairs on his chest tickled her eyelashes and despite the pain something that felt like a small firework spun wildly somewhere under her belly.

'Let that take the weight,' he said, 'get you some meds and you'll be right as rain.'

He turned away. Kaylee watched the meshwork of muscles that covered his back ripple as he pulled what was left of his suit up and over his arms. He sealed the front and with his hands on his hips he stared at one of the nearby screens. Jayne sat down at the keyboard and rattled at some of the buttons.

'Tryin' to find a map,' he said, 'see where we're at.'

'Any luck?' asked Kaylee after a minute.

He humphed and shrugged his shoulders.

'I ain't River so it mite take a while.'

They sat like that for a time, in silence, waiting for Mal to arrive while Jayne tried to pull information out of the ancient operating system.

'Kaylee?' he said.

'Yes Jayne?'

'You any idea why we haven't come 'cross any bodies yet? Must'a been a whole load a'people on this ship. Where you reckon they've gone and got to?'

Kaylee just shook her head. It was something she had been trying not to think about.

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

**Ghost Ship**

**Ten**

**River was running from her teddy bear. **It bounded across the top of her father's reading chair and stood there looking for her; scanning the room. She couldn't keep a squeal of excitement escaping her mouth even though she had both hands pressed against it. Mister Silky turned his head in the direction of the sound. He dropped down onto the arm of the chair and looked about again. River scuttled back further behind the fire-guard and her nightie rode up over her knees. She curled herself into a tight ball. Another little squeak escaped her lips. She peeked around the edge of the mesh screen, Mister Silky was gone. Where was he? Was he close? Did he know where she was hiding?

'River,' called her mother from another room, 'time for bed River.'

She tried to think and her brain expanded then snapped back to its normal size.

Thinking she was thinking made the thinking hurt.

'River,' came her mother's voice again, 'lie down where you are River. Good girl. Turn your head River. Don't look. You can trust me, you are safe. It's all going to be okay. I promise.'

River felt her hair grow; it was spewing out of her head like dough through a sieve.

She hunkered down and felt the carpet against her face and dug her fingertips into the deep pile. Such beautiful swirls, such beautiful swirls, such beautiful swirls. Swirly enough to drown in and drown in and drown in.

What was she doing? She tried to think, to centre herself; just remembering her name would suffice. Her brain went stiff. It snapped back against her consciousness like an elastic band. How could she exist without being able to think about herself?

Fear.

Was it hers?

Something was moving behind her.

There were peoples' feet running all around. She felt a shoed foot trample her leg. It rolled off her flesh and the heel ground the skin of her thigh into the floor. She screamed but everyone was screaming and no-one was helping anyone but themselves.

Mister Silky was behind her. Her teddy bear was hiding in the fire.

Sneaky teddy!

It walked across the glowing coals, through the flames, its little stubs of arms melting. One eye fell forwards and slid down his face on a long strand of molten plastic. The patches of fur she had rubbed bare with hugs blackened and smoked. She had to save him. She had to reach into the fire and pull him out. It was roaring. There was fire all around her. People were lying in the fire, their bodies were dead but she could hear their minds. Taste the cruelty all around. Feel whatever is left behind when life leaves the temple.

She called for her mother but her mother was dead and drops of her blood were in her mouth and tasted like licked batteries and Momma's dying thoughts were trapped in River's mind and ricocheting off the walls for perpetuity. Wallpaper plastered hallways and a shadowed tricycle and it was time for dinner or was it butterflies? Memories belonging to whoever remembered them.

NO THINKING!

GOOD GIRLS DON'T PICK THEIR NOSES!

GONNA BED'ER LIKE AN ANIMAL

WHISPER IT HONEY – TELL ME HOW MUCH YOU LOVE ME

MIRANDA MIRANDA MIRANDA MIRANDA MIRANDA MIRANDA MIRANDA

SLIP IT IN REAL DEEP – TWIST IT ABOUT IN YOUR INNARDS – TAKE IT OUT AND PUT IT IN YOUR MOUTH AND LET YOU KNOW WHAT BEING KILLED TASTES LIKE

...…help us…...

Then the world turned upside down and River peered through the faceplate of her EV suit and found herself looking up at the scuffed, grey soles of a little girl's shoes. River was lying on her back on a floor somewhere she didn't recognise; gravity was adding weight to her chest and she had to think to breathe. The thought expanded and bounced away like on a trampoline. It wasn't hers to have. It would be best if she did not think.

Inside her EV suit, between her body and the tight layer of material, Mister Silky started to move, to crawl, to steal.

**Mal took his EV suit ****out of its suitcase**. It only had one arm and there were straps of reinforced material on the calves, the thighs and the hips; handles Simon must have insisted were added to the captains suit so he could dress himself. Mal swallowed down on a pang of rising self-pity. He had lost an arm but he was still flying; others were much worse off. He tossed the suit on the sofa outside the infirmary and began to undress.

Mal stripped down to his underwear and kicked his discarded clothes to the side. He slipped his feet into the boots of the EV suit and began to pull the skintight white leggings up his body. Even with the extra straps it was difficult work to pull each trouser an equal distance up each leg. He yanked at the material in order to coax it over his right hip but without a second arm to steady himself he overbalanced.

'Damn,' he cursed as he fell in an ungainly mass on the sofa. On the edge of his vision he saw River's bare legs run past from the cargo-bay into the infirmary. He thought he heard her laughter.

River? Is that you lil' 'tross? River your beloved captain… Damn infernal… River I need some help. River?'

What was the moonbrain up to? Mal gathered his feet under him and stood up and with a couple of sharp jumps managed to hitch the suit over his ass and up his waist. He slipped his arm into the sleeve and wriggled his fingers into the glove. Pulling the other side of the suit up over his stump he walked into the infirmary. There was no-one there. He paused. Mal hunkered down and looked under the treatment-table. She wasn't hiding there.

'River…? Where…?'

Mal heard young laughter again but this time it sounded like it was coming from up the stairs on the upper deck. Mal stepped out of the infirmary and looked about him; Serenity was silent; unease tightened the muscles in his chest.

Mal quickly shrugged the rest of the suit up over his shoulders and sealed the front. He stepped over to the pile of clothes he had left on the floor intending to take the handgun from his belt but stopped before he had completed the whole action. There was a figure dressed in a small white EV suit standing by the airlock at the far end of the cargo-bay.

Mal walked up the few steps that led up to the entrance and stared down the bay at the figure. The figure raised one arm and slowly indicated that he come closer. Grey dust drifted from the suited figure as it performed the movement. Mal bit his bottom lip as he assessed the situation. Something here was damned wrong but he couldn't identify exactly what it was. He whirled round believing there was something behind him, but there was nothing he could see. When he turned back the suited figure had crossed the room and was standing at the bottom of the steps into the cargo-bay. It waved at him to come closer, to follow. It moved awkwardly, in a childlike manner as if it was struggling against the constraints of the suit.

'River,' he said into his earpiece, 'is that you? Is your mic still broken?'

The figure turned and started to walk back to the airlock.

'Wait,' said Mal. He dashed back down the stairs to the sofa, threw the earpiece on a cushion and grabbed his helmet. He put it on his head and took a suitcase containing a Med-Express EV suit that would fit Jayne from the rack. He ducked into the infirmary and slung an emergency first-aid kit over his shoulder and went back to the cargo-bay. River's suited shape was standing at the airlock. He walked over to her and set the suitcase down. Mal indicated his helmet.

'I can't seal it by myself,' he said and pointed at his neck.

River turned and looked at him. She was covered in a fine layer of dust and the faceplate of her helmet was rendered opaque. Mal couldn't see her face.

'How're you able to see out of that thing?' he said.

She obviously could see because she came closer and reached both her arms up to his head. She placed a gloved hand on either side of the helmet and twisted it, locking it into place. Mal felt his air-supply engage and a faint red readout appeared on the inside of his faceplate. The pin-lights around each side of his face illuminated.

'Seal's good,' he said, 'okay then, let's go.'

River turned and walked into the airlock. Mal tapped some commands into the cargo-bay node and picked up the suitcase containing Jayne's suit. He took one last look around the inside of Serenity's hull and then followed River into the airlock. He couldn't understand the anxiety he had been feeling earlier. He could feel adrenalin coursing through his blood but it was being caused by excitement not fear. As the airlock closed Mal stood beside River and waited for the square double-doors leading into the Kestrel to reopen. Mal let a big smile grow on his face. He was really looking forward to see what he was going to find on the other side.

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

**Ghost Ship**

**Eleven**

**In the Med-Express warehouse on Dundee** an elegant alarm sounded. Simon fished the pocket-watch from his waistcoat and silenced its chime. He read the clock and sucked air through a space between his teeth.

'Problem sir?' said Cruiser.

Simon shook his head and pocketed the watch.

'Just a reminder for me to give River her medication.'

Cruiser nodded.

'Is Miss Lee-Frye looking after Miss Tam in your absence?'

'Yes she is. I'm sure she won't forget. She knows how important it is.'

The two men stood in the shelter of the large wooden doors that led out to the reception area at the front of the warehouse. They were waiting for the arrival of a candidate for the position of captain of the new Firefly. Her interview had been scheduled to start half an hour ago but she had yet to appear. In the sky above them dark clouds drifted in front of the pale yellow disc of the binary suns at the centre of the system. A wind picked up bringing the smell of salt from the ocean lapping in the harbor behind them and a gentle rain began to fall.

'I'm sure she won't be much longer,' said Cruiser, 'you know how eccentric the hired transport in Dundee can be. How are Captain Reynolds and his crew?'

'Delayed,' said Simon, 'they haven't yet managed to make the delivery; there is some sort of electrical or magnetic storm on the planet Anishilous orbits.'

'Really? Do you want me to contact the station to check on their status?'

'No thank you Cruiser,' said Simon, 'I think that Captain Reynolds might regard that as us checking up on him.'

'Ah, yes. I see your point. No need to inadvertently rile him… or Mister Cobb for that matter.'

Simon smiled and leaned back against one of the doors. The leg Mal had put a bullet through a few months earlier had started to ache and he shifted his weight to take the pressure off it. He really didn't mind waiting. It was nice to have nothing to do for a while and to just let his mind wander.

'Doctor Tam,' said Cruiser, 'may I ask you a question of a personal nature?'

Simon pressed his bottom lip into his top lip and shrugged his shoulders. Cruiser was the sort of person who believed asking whether you had had a good night's sleep was beyond impertinent so whatever he wanted to know would not be too prying.

'It regards Miss Tam,' said Cruiser.

Simon straightened but nodded for him to continue.

'I understand that you have started Miss Tam on a course of Rhodamine 123.'

'That's correct,' said Simon.

'Sir, please tell me if I am overstepping the mark, but R-123 has not completed the entire process of official certification, it is not yet an accredited medication and we are not permitted to supply it through the company…'

'And yet I have seen fit to prescribe it to my sister?'

Cruiser looked uncomfortable.

'Yes sir. I only ask out of concern. Miss Tam… River… is very popular amongst the staff, including myself if I may say. Is it helping her?'

At that moment a livestock-transport truck with latticed sides passed by the front of the building on its way to a slaughter-house; from between the slats Simon could see animals poking their snouts out and taking their last sniffs of life. Simon sympathized with their plight, he knew how they must feel for it was how he felt: trapped and scared. The R-123 was the last pharmaceutical treatment he had at his disposal. He had exhausted all other established treatments and his own novel combinations with a heartbreaking lack of success. Now he was down to his last chance. If the R-123 did not work then he had no other cards in his deck to play. It was something he had told no-one else; a secret he had kept to himself.

'I think so Cruiser. She has been taking the new regime for three weeks and so far there have been no discernable side-effects. As long as the treatment is not interrupted I believe it may give River some degree of relief; perhaps on a permanent basis.'

Cruiser nodded and looked down at the slab that never seemed to leave his hands.

'I pray on a nightly basis for Miss Tam,' he said, 'she is a very special young woman.'

Simon looked at the other man, slightly shocked by the earnestness of his admission and then let his attention drift back to the plumes of surface-water that were rising behind the wheels of the disappearing truck.

'So do I,' he said.

TBC

_Author's note: Ghost Ship will conclude with chapter 15. And thank you to everyone who has taken the time to post a review. I really appreciate it._


	12. Chapter 12

**Ghost Ship**

**Twelve**

**The airlock door to the bridge of the Kestrel **shot open and a white-suited Mal walked in trailing a cloud of grey dust. Jayne paused halfway to his guns and his arms relaxed as he recognised him.

The airlock closed automatically behind Mal. He set down the suitcase and toggled the clips on either side of his neck. His helmet detached from its aluminium housing. He lifted it from his head and tucked it in the crook of his elbow and looked at Kaylee and Jayne.

'You two look like freshly shat shit,' said Mal.

Jayne sat back down heavily in a chair. He looked exhausted. His eyes were badly bloodshot and the top quarter of his EV suit was missing. Kaylee was slouched in another chair with one arm in a dirty sling. She was deathly pale and shivering and looked utterly miserable; though not so down that she couldn't smile at his arrival.

'Hey cap'n; nice 'f you to join us,' she said.

'Sit-Rep,' said Mal.

'Well,' said Jayne indicating the space around him, 'we got air, lights, gravity, heat…'

'But we don't got River,' said Kaylee through chattering teeth.

'What?' said Mal, 'what're you talkin' about? She's right behind me.'

He turned and stared at the sealed airlock behind him. He turned round looking for her in the room.

'Where the Hell…? She was right behind me just a… She walked with me all the way from Serenity. Jayne! Bring her back. Now! Suit's in the case.'

'Right Mal.' Jayne started stripping out of his ruined EV suit.

Mal dropped down on one knee before Kaylee and bowed his head. He lifted the medical-kit off his shoulder and over his head and set it on the ground.

'Damn girl's gonna be the end 'f me,' he grumbled as he opened the kit. 'So,' he said to Kaylee with a smile, 'how's things been with you?'

'Oh just shiny. You see this ship?'

Mal flashed a small light from the kit into each of her eyes and watched the response of her pupils.

'Quite a beauty ain't she,' said Mal, 'open your mouth.'

Kaylee did as she was told and Mal placed a thermometer under her tongue.

'Collarbone's bust,' said Jayne as he sealed up the front of his new white suit.

'You still here?' said Mal.

Jayne snorted, snapped his helmet in place and took a close-range, cut-down shotgun from his weapons bag. He walked to the airlock and the inner door slid into the roof.

'Jayne,' shouted Mal over his shoulder, 'stay sharp and be brief. Girl can't have got far.'

Jayne nodded his head inside the helmet and the airlock closed behind him as he left.

Mal took the thermometer from Kaylee's mouth and read her temperature.

'You know that ain't true,' said Kaylee.

'You ain't hypothermic so I oughta understand what you're talkin' 'bout but I don't so go figure.'

'It ain't true that she can't have got far. We been waitin' here for you for thirty-two minutes, I know 'cause I been watchin' the time on that monitor all the while. You left Serenity just after talkin' to us, right? Just after River vanished?'

'Sounds 'bout right. So?'

'So how'd River get over to Serenity so fast? Just don't reckon.'

Mal looked at the time readout on the monitor Kaylee had indicated. He had no answer for her but for some reason he could not identify he felt the need to defend River.

'We both talkin' about the same River here? 'Cause the River Tam I know can do all kinds a'stuff I wouldn't 've reckoned on bein' probable this time last year.'

'That include walkin' through walls?' said Kaylee. Her bottom lip began to tremble and tears welled in her eyes.

'I don't like it here anymore,' she said, 'I want to go home.'

'You're in shock,' said Mal plugging a vial from the kit into a syringe, 'gonna give you a shot of Mollydot; it'll warm you up like home-cooked soup.'

Mal injected the drug into her right arm and discarded the empty vial. It skittered noisily away on the stone floor.

'Kaylee,' he said plugging a different vial into the syringe, 'there was a time when I didn't have a problem believin' in the impossible; Hell I searched it out until I latched myself onto the biggest improbability of them all. Then the war smashed its way into my back yard and I had my eyes opened to the truth of the 'verse. Might've appeared to an onlooker that I'd been happier then, before the war, but that was the happy of the deluded. Understandin' always comes at a cost and the price you always pay is innocence. So, even though happy is thinner on the ground these days, when it does come along, it's the real thing; you know? It's precious. Or at least that's what I used to think.'

Mal gave Kaylee an injection of half a vial of Morphogene to take the edge of the pain.

'Then River drifted into my cargo-bay,' he said as he put the vial back in the kit, 'Heh! I used to think Inara twisted my sails, but that was just my heart. Man 'spects his heart to take a hammerin' but River… River threw my whole world sideways. Everything that I'd set in stone that girl shattered all to smithereens.'

Mal looked directly into Kaylee's eyes.

'She can do things. Do things that Simon and his science don't have words for,' he said, 'not sayin' they won't ever be able to explain how she does them but I'm not a scientist, so they ain't gonna be speakin' my language. I'm just a farm-boy that's wound up in the body of a broken-down soldier and that boy is knowin' doubts he ain't never knowed before. Everything has all opened up and River's the door. Don't know what's on the other side. Could be good, could be bad; only thing I know for sure is I'm gladder she's in our lives than not.'

Kaylee smiled and reached out and softly brushed Mal's cheek.

'You have really pretty hair,' she said.

Mal laughed.

'You feeling that Morphogene already lil' K?' he said as he stood up, 'should've remembered to give you the big-fat-wuss dose.'

'She's your guardian angel,' said Kaylee in a sing-songish voice.

'Who is?' said Mal shaking his head at her incoherence.

The airlock opened and Jayne walked in and took his helmet off. He was out of breath.

'No sign,' he panted, 'two floors of crew quarters below us. Did every room. She's gone.'

'Right,' said Mal turning away from Kaylee, 'distinctly remember telling you Jayne that I wasn't partial to losing any more crew.'

'Mal this ain't my fault.'

Mal waved his protests away. He stood in front of the consoles Jayne had been sitting at when he had come on the bridge.

'What you got here?' he said.

Jayne slammed his helmet down on a chair and pushed Mal out of the way.

'Helps if you have two hands to work one of these,' he said. 'Life support,' Jayne pointed at the monitor with the shotgun, 'was workin' my way through the files 'fore you got here.'

'What did you find?' asked Mal.

Jayne scrolled through the different systems that were controlled from that console. Multicoloured wireframe animations appeared on the screen before him.

'River got the generators up and goin' 'fore she pulled her first disappearin' act of the night,' he said, 'these are the schematics of where all the power is runnin' to.' Jayne focused in on one region near the centre of the Kestrel.

'That's us,' he said, 'the bridge.'

Mal pointed to the region below the bridge.

'What's there?' he said.

'That's where I just been; crew quarters, canteen, kitchen, head; all the borin' stuff you'd expect. It's fillin' with air but there's still not enough to breathe. The outer decks are too big for the generators to support, they've got gravity but nuthin else; it's just a dead zone between us and Serenity.'

'Show me engineering,' said Mal.

'Still dead as well,' said Jayne scrolling to the aft of the ship, 'same as the outer ring of decks. There's power bein' fed down there but you couldn't work without a suit and there's no way to turn the engines on without goin' down there in person, so your time'd be limited and we can't refill air tanks for the suits on Serenity. Engine room'll have to wait for a return trip'

'Bring it back to the bridge,' said Mal.

Jayne retraced his route through the schematics.

'Stop!' said Mal pointing at the screen, 'go back… and down… there. What's that?'

Jayne peered at the region of the ship Mal was indicating. He shook his head as if something didn't make sense. He flipped through different charts showing the many different layers that combined to form the Kestrel's infrastructure.

'You got me,' he finally said sitting back in the chair, 'I don't know. It's on some plans but not on others.'

Mal traced a fine yellow line across the screen.

'It's getting a secure feed of power,' he said, 'whatever it is it's as important as the bridge. What the Hell could it be?'

'A safe?' said Jayne.

'Could be,' said Mal scratching his chin,' it's sealed up tight enough to be one, but look at all the systems that are going around that area. If it's a safe then it's the biggest safe I've ever seen. It's big enough to fit a whole family in.'

'Panic room?' suggested Jayne.

The two men exchanged excited looks.

'The Halbelbach private quarters,' said Mal, 'has to be.'

'Damn,' said Jayne, 'it's thievin' time.'

'**Here's the plan****,' said Mal,** 'first priority is finding River; second is searching for survivors. Though I reckon we're all in agreement that there aren't gonna be any, we gotta at least say it out loud so our consciences don't feel too bad later on. We'll head in the direction of the Halbelbach family quarters; or whatever it is, see how close we can get. Kaylee's lowest on breathable so if we don't see anything in thirty minutes we turn round and head for Serenity with or without River. Agreed?'

'Agreed,' said Jayne.

'Any of what you just said involve me movin'?' asked Kaylee.

'Yes Kaylee,' said Mal, 'I'm sorry but one way or t'other you got to get up and start walking.'

Mal went over to her and helped her up out of the seat. She swayed slightly and he steadied her with his body.

'You okay?' he said quietly into her ear.

Kaylee just nodded her head against his chest.

'Jayne you bring the Gielsen?'

'No Mal; brought somethin' better.' Jayne reached into his mesh-bag of weaponry and took out a snub-nosed machine-pistol.

'Twelve-mil, semi-automatic Lux,' said Jayne handing the weapon to Mal, 'twenty-eight rounds in the clip each one with the stoppin' power of a brick wall. Put the strap over your shoulder and keep it taut when firin'; it'll absorb the recoil.'

'Shiny. Pass me the slabs.'

Jayne pulled the bandolier belt from where Kaylee had draped it over the railing and passed it to Mal. Mal gently leaned Kaylee against the rail and slipped one of the two remaining slabs from its pouch and switched it on. Its luminous blue screen showed the Med-Express logo and Mal held the portable device near the life-support console. It immediately detected the ship-board processor. Mal accepted its offer to synch and data began to be copied from the elderly system to the sleeker, newer one. Mal placed the slab on the console and moved back to Kaylee while he waited for the download to be completed.

'Kaylee, I need you to carry the med-kit for me, I can't do it and carry a gun. That okay?'

'Yeah,' she said, 'feelin' much better. Where we at again?'

'Don't be frettin' none 'bout that; you just stay close to me, understand?'

Kaylee nodded while Mal draped the med-kit over her uninjured shoulder.

'You all set Jayne?'

Jayne clipped his helmet in place and gave Mal the thumbs up. Mal watched as Jayne positioned Kaylee's helmet in its gasket. Jayne turned to him and pulled a face then helped Mal with his own helmet. Their earpieces buzzed as they connected to each other. Mal checked that the slab had finished downloading the ship schematics and called up the floor-plans for the bridge and the surrounding deck. He entered the position of their desired location and a trail of red dashes wound their way through the levels of the Kestrel.

Jayne had buckled a belt of ammunition, knives and at least two handguns around his waist; Vera was slung over his shoulder. He held the shotgun in his gloved hands.

'Okay,' said Mal looking at the map on the slab, 'out of the airlock, twenty meters and we take a door on the left and down a flight of stairs to the lower deck. Jayne you've got point.'

'What 'bout all this stuff?' said Jayne indicating the rest of the gear they had brought with them; the mesh-bag of remaining weapons, the blow-torch, its gas-cylinder and Kaylee's toolbox.

'Don't fret Jayne,' said Mal, 'we'll come back and get it later; not as if there's anybody here that's going to steal it.'

They moved out of the bridge, through the doorway and down the stairs and closer to the secret at the heart of the Kestrel.

TBC


	13. Chapter 13

**Ghost Ship**

_Author'__s note: My apologies for the delay in posting this chapter. I was finding the end of GS difficult to write; was unsure how far to push events, so I got stuck into a few chapters of an upcoming episode instead. Now ready to complete GS._

**Thirteen**

**They moved through the ship like ghosts. **Tiny emergency LEDs set into doorways and the ceiling cast ghoulish cones of lights around them. At the bottom of a narrow stairwell they entered a long galley kitchen that was covered in a continuous layer of grey dust. It was as if just prior to leaving, the crew, knowing they would be gone some time had draped protective sheets over all the exposed work surfaces. Jayne took point moving ahead of Mal and Kaylee towards a pair of swinging service-doors. As his boots made contact with the ground small clouds of the dust rose from the black and white tiles. Mal checked the route on his slab.

'Big space beyond Jayne,' he said.

Jayne nodded and pushed one of the swinging doors open just enough to peer through.

'Ballroom,' he said, 'nuthin'movin'.'

'Going near dead ahead 'nother fifty meters then round and up and we're there,' said Mal, 'Kaylee, how you doing for air?'

Mal felt her hand tug at the material at the back of his suit as his question brought her back to reality.

'Uh… ten minutes Cap'n,' she said. 'Mal… ah'm not feelin' so good. All hot and cold an' my belly's flip-floppin' like a dancin' fishstick. Think ah'm gonna be sick'

'Can't be sick in your suit Kaylee. Wouldn't be…' Mal searched for the right word, '…ladylike. It's just the Mollydot talkin'. You keep a hold of me and you watch those numbers right there in front of you. I want you to tell me when ev'ry minute goes by you hear?'

'Yes. I hear.'

'So what's the number? Let me hear you say it out loud Kaylee.'

Mal indicated to Jayne that they move out. Jayne pushed the doors with his shoulder then held them open with one heel as he covered the room with the shotgun. A tiny funnel of spinning dust no higher than his knees moved away from the mercenary as the door opened. It twirled down a few steps to the level surface of a dance-floor and dissipated into nothingness.

'Ten,' said Kaylee.

Her voice was slightly slurred and as Mal moved through the kitchen her hand pulled awkwardly on his suit as she struggled to follow him. They walked into the spacious ballroom and Jayne let the door swing shut behind them. He moved forwards, methodically moving the barrel of the shotgun from one potential hiding-place to another. Mal looked around the elegant room and found his eyes drawn past the chandeliers dripping from the roof and up to a dark circle of glittering space cut into quadrants by a spider-web of supporting window-frames. It was the dome they had passed over when they had first checked out the Kestrel from Serenity all those hours before.

Mal began to feel that he was getting his bearings and that he now had an idea of where they were in relation to the exterior of the ship. He checked the slab again just to be sure.

'Straight ahead Jayne. Through that arch at the other end of the room; one in the centre.'

'Nine,' said Kaylee.

Jayne walked down the few steps to the level of the dance-floor. His boots sunk into the dust and he stopped and looked down.

'Jayne?' said Mal.

Jayne carefully stepped out of the layer of dust and climbed onto a dining chair and further up onto a long banqueting table. He set down the shotgun and slung Vera off his shoulder. He worked on the scope for a moment then raised the butt of the rifle to his shoulder and sighted into the centre of the ballroom.

'Jayne we got a problem?'

'Dunno Mal. Sumthin'…'

Mal walked towards him but stopped suddenly as Jayne's voice came through the earpiece in his helmet. Kaylee walked into his back bumping him forward a step.

'Stop!' said Jayne, 'Don't be walkin' in that.'

'Walkin' in what?'

'That,' said Jayne pointing at the ground, 'that ain't dust. Leastways it wasn't always.'

Jayne hunkered down on the table with Vera across his lap. He worked on her scope again for a moment and then pointed the weapon back at the floor. A weak blue light from the scope cast peculiarly bright shadows across the layer of dust. Mal's eyes took a second to decipher what he was looking at.

'Kaylee,' he said quietly, 'step back girl.'

Under Jayne's ultra-violet beam the floor looked like it was covered in a clumpy coating of dirty snow. Shapes appeared under the moving illumination; writhing snakes that coalesced into undulating waves of crawling bodies. Mal looked down at the dust he was standing in and slowly the smooth ridges became limbs; reduced to phantoms of ash and entwined like gnarled roots all the way to the far side of the room. He began to make out details; perfectly preserved fingers tipped with blackened nails, shoes, smaller bodies curled under larger ones. Hundreds of petrified faces peered up at him from their final resting-places.

'You reckon that's all 'f 'em?' asked Jayne.

'Make much difference whether it's all or just some of them?' said Mal.

'S'pose not. Tell you one thing tho; wasn't Reavers that done this.'

'No,' said Mal, 'Reavers chase and scatter, they don't herd and cremate. This was organized… merciless… efficient. People all brought to one place then executed. Some sort of wicking accelerant sprayed over the corpses; sort of stuff that burns hot for days without a flame.'

'Sounds military to me,' said Jayne.

'Sounds unconscionable to me,' said Mal.

Jayne let out a compressed stream of air from his mouth.

'Given enough time there'd be nothin' left t'see,' he said, 'no trace 'f any crime ever bein' done. Just seem like e'ryone'd up and gone and left nuthin' behind but a dirty ship.'

Mal looked at his gloved hand and the fine granules that covered it. 'Nothing left but dust and memories,' he said.

'Not quite,' said Jayne. He stood and walked further along the banqueting table pointing to the centre of the room.

'Did I already say eight?' said Kaylee, 'because it's just turned seven.'

'Line 'f footprints goin' right through the middle,' said Jayne, 'same way we're heading.'

'River,' said Mal.

TBC


	14. Chapter 14

**Ghost Ship**

**Fourteen**

**Mal and Kaylee threaded their way **through the tables and chairs around the dance-floor while Jayne walked on top of the tables, jumping from one to the next. Mal went to the front and marched hard with intent dragging a stumbling Kaylee behind him like a cart-horse pulling a trap with a buckled wheel.

They went through one of the arches at the end of the ballroom and moved quickly along the ornately decorated corridor beyond. It was curved and if followed to its end would lead back to the other side of the ballroom. At the midway point a set of wide steps led up to a pair of metal doors each emblazoned with a blue and gold crest: an azure sun impaled on three swords spaced so that the pommels and points protruded from the circle like the points of a star.

The doors were hanging open and held onto the wall by only by a few remaining hinges. The metal exterior was scorched and the doors themselves were contorted and deformed as if they had been subjected to some sort of explosive discharge that had forced them inwards against their frame before they had recoiled outwards. Mal stood in the empty space between them and checked the slab in his hand.

'We're there,' he said, 'how you doing Kaylee?'

'I would very much like not to be here,' she said.

'Nearly done. Just hang in there for a little while longer. Jayne, you good?'

'Sweet to the beat.'

'Okay,' said Mal, 'let's get River and get the Hell off this ship.'

He stepped though the doors and started to climb the stairs. Each of the steps was constructed from a different colour or texture of stone, as if each one had been sourced from a different planet; walking up them was like striding across the solar system. Mal came to a halt at the top of the stairs. The room he was standing in was enormous, a cavernous arboretum filled with skeletal tree-trunks long past being able to sustain greenery. Panoramic images from many worlds decorated the walls; twin-suns rising into a scintillating dawn above a nascent savannah, a boiling wall of ocean water forced back by the heat of a spitting black volcano, a mighty swarm of nocturnal jungle bats silhouetted against the luminous rings of a gas-giant, gargantuan terra-forming factories casting long shadows across a deserted mountain-range, a circular rainbow crowning a blob of proto-planet seen from space in its first moments of atmospheric integrity; but the only thing Mal was looking at was the line of bodies hanging by their necks under a long mezzanine balcony.

**There were six atrophied corpses** hanging from the landing; a man, a woman and four girls of close age. Mal left Kaylee in Jayne's arms and walked between the dead trees towards the family treading over a carpet of desiccated leaves as he went. He stood before the body of the man and looked up at his sunken face. Curly yellow whiskers framed the man's gray, fibrous jowls and one of his feet was bare; his lost slipper was on the floor below him, glued to the floor by a dark resinous puddle of fluids that had run out of him after his death.

He was dressed like an aristocrat and although dead for a century he would not have looked out of place in a contemporary gathering of the elite. To Mal it seemed as if the upper-class possessed an understanding of dress that transcended the mercurial whims of fashion and in some way he could not describe cemented their position at the top of the social hierarchy. Mal experienced a feeling of jealousy; he wanted a piece of their integrity for himself, but knew that by fact of his common birth he never would.

This was a source of resentment that he had learnt on the ranch during his childhood. At first he had embraced it for the same reason all young boys do anything; because it drew acceptance from the older men that had taught it to him. But over time Mal had made it his own conviction and had incorporated it into his identity. Now, he could no more remove this ingrained anger than a steer could will away the mark of the brander's hot metal. To aspire to be accepted as an equal by the aristocracy was to fail before you began. They never would see men like Mal as being anything more than useful; convenient to have at your disposal, like a stray dog eager to be put to a purpose, but never accepted, merely tolerated. The aristocracy was forever; commoners were transitory and therefore expendable. It was a realization that people like Badger, so eager to be regarded as equals, would, to their eternal tragedy, never comprehend.

And yet, despite his deep-felt animosity towards those born into privilege, Mal found that he bore this family no ill-will. During his life he had experienced many great indignities; some funny, most not. As he had grown older Mal had come to believe that all people were entitled to the benefit of doubt when it came to the level of respect they were accorded and he could imagine with more clarity than he wished just how undignified this family's final minutes had undoubtedly been. It was hanging in the air for any right-minded person to see.

'Don't ferget t'check the women-folk for jewelry?' said Jayne through the earpiece.

Mal shook his head within his helmet and stared at the bodies of the five females; such a waste of life so callously extinguished. Mal could feel the need to shed tears start to burn his eyes. He tried to remember the last time he had cried for another person's misfortune and realized that it had been before the war. Even the day they had carried Wash's bloody body from Serenity's cockpit on Mister Universe's moon had not brought forth such an emotional reaction. He hadn't even cried when he had lost his arm.

Mal tried not to hear the girl's voices in his head but life had taught him the sounds people make when they see their deaths coming; children as well as adults. He could hear the family crying as rough-men put ropes around the adults' necks. Their mother tried to placate them, told them to turn away, not to look, that all would be well and they would see one another in heaven. Their father was silent, stoic in the face of oblivion. Then the parents were thrown over the balcony and disappeared from view as the ropes went tight. There was no laughter from the men; they were professionals, here to the job. The sisters were holding onto each other as hands pulled them apart and nooses were tied round them one by one. The youngest went over the balcony first, so light she went high into the air when thrown. Her sisters heard the sound of her body swing under the mezzanine and hit the ceiling under their knees. She was not heavy enough for the fall to break her neck and she was still trying to call out to her dead parents swinging beside her as her next two sisters went over the balcony in flurries of skirts and screams of terror.

The oldest sister went last. This was the order in which the men had been instructed to carry out the job. She did not resist like her younger siblings and the men took their time talking to her as they tied her arms behind her back. Mal could feel the noose going round her throat. He could smell it as it passed her face, oily, as if it had come from an engine-room. There was breath in her ear and stubble on her neck as they spoke to her. Their leader explained to her why this was happening in words he had been forced to memorize. He told her why she had to be the one to die last as he slipped a stick he had broken off one of the trees below between her skin and the rope and began to turn it in a circle. Mal felt the noose contract and the blood being squeezed into his head. His hand went to his throat and he scraped at the collar of his suit. He tried to breath but he could not force air down his throat.

They suffocated her with the improvised garrote before tossing her down to join her family. As she swung back and forth her unconscious body took longer than the others had done to expire. It shut down more slowly than those that had struggled as they dangled. She was serene; unaware that she was in a state other than a dreaming sleep. Her thoughts drifted as she slid slowly into death. They became more diffuse; became intangible and incoherent until all that remained was a spark, a glowing ember in the ashes that continued to smoulder for a long time after the men had completed their job and left the ship.

In the same way that the receding waves of a falling tide leave a pattern of lines in the sand at the waters' edge her evaporating life left behind the dry matrix of connected neurons that had been home to her sense of self. A century of silence and stillness passed and the empty template in her head was preserved, a vacuum, yearning to be filled by a similarly special consciousness. The greatest mutant the 'verse had ever known had been born a reader and it was only another reader that would be pulled in to fill the space left behind.

'One mind into two heads don't go,' said Mal.

TBC


End file.
